14 September 1812: Napoleon entered Moscow, which had been abandoned by the Russians using a scorched earth policy. But winter was approaching and Napoleon soon had to retreat.

THE WARLIKE LADS OF RUSSIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM6chknRF3Q Nic Jones

Nic Jones recorded both this ballad and The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie in September 1974 for the benefit LP for Fred Woods' magazine Folk Review, The First Folk Review Record. According to the sleeve notes; the words are from a broadside in the Harkness Collection at the Harris Museum and Library in Preston; and the tune is collated from various traditional sources, with contributions from Nic Jones. This recording was later included in the Fellside anthology LP and CD Flash Company and on Nic Jones' 2 CD anthology Unearthed where he noted:

Possibly to the consternation of some, I often deliberately altered or re-wrote words and tunes of traditional songs, although I did try to keep it very much in sympathy with the original. Broadsides, however, offered a good source of ballads without such constraints and gave me the freedom to compose around the text without offence. Described on a broadsheet as A New Song—Bonaparte's Escape from Russia, I added a few extra words, wrote a tune and called it The Warlike Lads of Russia. Mainly Norfolk

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Mainly Norfolk: The Warlike Lads of Russia, Information and Lyrics    https://mainlynorfolk.info/nic.jones/songs/thewarlikeladsofrussia.html
French invasion of Russia from Wikipedia    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia
Many other recordings of “The Warlike Lads of Russia” on YouTube     https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Warlike+Lads+Of+Russia+
MUDCAT Lyr Req: The Warlike Lads of Russia /mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=18702